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Chapter 145. The Joestar Family's Strange Relationship With Women
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At this point, Cujoh Jolyne and the industry insiders harbored different expectations.
Even though some of these people were seasoned insiders, like Akiyuki Shinbo, the supervisor from Green Dolphin Studio, he still had concerns. After coming back to his senses, he clearly understood the impact of the "Stand" technology on the industry.
But, just like the first person who ate a mushroom might accidentally eat a poisonous one, when a certain truck driver benefited from new technological advances and started making loads of money, didn't others in the industry think about doing the same by researching technology to earn their own benefits?
Of course, they did!
After witnessing the success of new technology, not only did people see the possibility of recovering the previous investments with profits, but they could also create a successful new IP that would keep making money and go down in history. Who wouldn't be tempted in the industry?
But how many people succeeded?
Hardly any.
There are people who can't even name those early works that used new technology. For instance, does anyone know the name of the first movie that used computer-generated effects? Without checking Wikipedia, most people probably don't know.
This is because that movie was released around the same time as "Star Wars", a traditional special effects masterpiece that was dominating the era. The emerging computer-generated effects stood no chance against "Star Wars" at its peak... The movie wasn't entirely forgotten, thanks to some connoisseurs in the industry.
Still, that film could only pave the way for future pioneers.
Akiyuki Shinbo's concern was the same.
If "Stardust Crusaders" didn't manage to turn a profit and couldn't recover the investment in the new technology, the rest of the industry would surely take the opportunity to collectively push down the licensing cost of this new technology.
In a worst-case scenario, the technology rights might even be used to offset debts.
Not knowing about Jolyne's system or the backing of the SPW Foundation and Joestar Real Estate behind Green Dolphin Studio, Shinbo looked at the industry with the harshest possible outlook.
But now, all he could do was trust Pucci and believe that "Stardust Crusaders" had some hidden charm he hadn't yet discovered...
And so, under many expectant gazes, "Stardust Crusaders" aired its new episode this week.
Life or death?
This was the moment!
…
"Yare yare daze."
Jotaro Kujo instinctively tugged his student hat lower, perhaps trying to use the tightness to keep himself calm.
But calming down was the last thing he could do right now.
It wasn't just about yesterday when his grandfather busted him out of prison and told him about the Stand on his back or how his great-grandfather's body had been stolen.
Nor was it about how his mother, just this morning, still wanted to give him a good luck kiss before he left for school, like when he was a kid.
It was also because...
"Ah, it's JoJo!"
"JoJo?"
"It's really JoJo!"
"Good morning, JoJo!"
"..."
After being jailed for four days due to his Stand, Jotaro was finally able to go to school today.
But all he had to do was walk along the path to school, and he was already the center of attention from... yes, his female classmates.
"Shameless, these students nowadays. Josuke, if you ever meet indecent girls like that, be careful not to get tricked by them!"
Even though in the first episode of "Stardust Crusaders", Jotaro's debut disappointed some fans, who felt his character wasn't well-developed compared to others, this was mostly for those who wanted to see if Jotaro could live up to the "JoJo" name.
But for others, especially Joseph's fans, while they saw the Stands of others being these cool humanoid figures, Joseph's Stand was... vines? Not to mention, his power was to break a camera and get a photograph? It left many people feeling strange.
However, recalling that Joseph had never been a powerhouse character since "Battle Tendency", a vine-based Stand that could be used in creative ways seemed to suit his intelligence more than a humanoid Stand. So, this minor oddity didn't stop fans from eagerly watching the new episode of "Stardust Crusaders".
Tomoko Higashikata was no exception.
She quickly pulled Josuke over to watch the new episode of "Stardust Crusaders".
And then they saw it: Jotaro, inheriting the bizarre womanly charm of the Joestar family, being surrounded by high school girls who were fighting over him.
"Even if you get lonely and want to find a girl, Josuke, make sure you choose someone as virtuous as your mom, not some untrustworthy girl like those!"
Tomoko warned him, adding, "Don't go for girls who don't seem decent, alright!?"
Perhaps because Jotaro bore such a resemblance to the young Joseph, his grandmother, Tomoko, took a particular liking to him.
Seeing those high school girls fuss over him left her deeply annoyed!
If they could intervene in the story, Tomoko would probably have joined the jealous schoolgirls in yelling at them.
Josuke, watching his mother, thought for a moment about how she wasn't that different from the girls, but kept his thoughts to himself, replying, "Yes, I understand."
Then again, this scene was oddly relatable.
Though Josuke also inherited the Joestar family's strange appeal to women, he didn't have the nerve to call his own mom an "old hag" like Jotaro could. Still, he shared Jotaro's frustrations with female attention.
At least now, seeing how Jotaro handled things, Josuke felt like he could learn a thing or two.
As he watched, a sense of kinship emerged within him, and he thought to himself, ""Stardust Crusaders" might actually be pretty interesting after all."